cuts the fentence of whipping upon a convict with his own hands. Amidst the innumerable affaults and barbarities that were committed, it will be neceffary to select fome, in order to convey a general idea of their nature, their fyftem and their objects. In the mean time a collection has been already made by perfons particularly in terefled in the event of the commotions; and perhaps we cannot do better than to tranfcribe what they have written upon the fubject. We fhall thus probably obtain the additional advantage, of efcaping thofe impofitions which are inevitably practifed in the daily prints, and of relating only fuch facts as are certain and well authenticated. Meanwhile as we find them unac companied with dates and other fuch circumftantial matters, we cannot pledge ourselves for their chronological accuracy. The following are fome of the inftances cited, of perfonal attacks upon clergymen, by doctor Richard Woodward, lord bishop of Cloyne. "One, a dignitary in my cathedral, was forced to come out of his houfe at midnight, by a band of one hundred and fifty ruffians, to fwear that he would give up his legal rights; a gun being pointed clofe to his head while the oath was tendered, and a horfe produced with a faddle full of fpikes, on which he was to be mounted if he refused to wear. A fecond was menaced with dreadful imprecations, that he should meet with a moft horrible reception, if he did not obey their laws more punctually, though he by a public notice had declared his fubmiffion. A third, that he fhould be treated inhumanly and barbaroufly. A fourth, that his ears fhould be cropped, and his tongue cut out of his mouth. A fifth they informed, that they had prepared a pitched fhirt for him, in which they would fet him on fire. A fixth had his house in the town of Mallow broken open at midnight, and his bedchamber entered by a number of armed men, who forced him to give up his horfes for their use. A feventh had five of his horfes cropped, from fpite that his houfe was fecure. And an eighth had his house furrounded in the dead of night by an hundred men for feveral hours, who endeavoured to force his gates, the terror of which nearly occafioned the death of his daughter, who, as the affailants who were his near neighbours must have known, was brought to bed the night before. On the whole all the clergy in the extenfive county of Cork," of which only the bishop profeffes to fpeak, "whofe places of refidence were in the country were under continual alarm, and obliged to arm themselves in the best manner they could. Had they not given way to the violence of the infurgents, they would as it appears, have been perfonally ill treated; perhaps buried in thofe graves which, in many places were dug profeffedly for their reception." To fuggeft more strongly the idea of combination and fyftem, the bifhop goes on to ftate that "a form of fummons to the clergyman, penned with legal accuracy, was printed at Cork, at the expence of a gentleman of rank and fortune, and many thoufand copies of it circulated with diligence, through the adjacent counties of Limeric, Kerry and Tipperary. They took arms out of the hands of proteftants, and levicd money for the exprefs purpofe of purchafing ammunition. They imposed oaths on the the laity, limiting them to a certain amount of compofition for tithes. They nailed up one church, and bound themselves by oath to burn another. They broke open jails, fet fire to hay and corn, and even to houses, efpecially thofe occupied by the army. They threat ened to burn the town of Newmarket, in the diocefe of Cloyne, un lefs a White Boy confined there was relcafed. At latt they had the audacity to menace the cities of Limeric and Cork, and the town Ennis, the capital of Clare, with fimine, and to take measures for in errupting a fupply of provifions. But the circumftance which appears to me molt alarming, is their having established a kind of poft-office for communication, by which probably they are able to convene fuch public meetings as their own notices prove they actually hold.” The narrative of the bishop of Cloyne, however authentic it may be as far as it goes, we are obliged to regard as inadequate and partial. The facts we have already given are calculated to perfuade us, and fuch indeed is the opinion of the bithop, that the whole infurrection is to be regarded as pointed against the proteftant religion. There are other facis, not already noticed, which certainly do not tend to corroborate an hypothefis of this fort. From the earliest appearance of thefe tumults lord viscount Kenmare, a catholic nobleman, and who stands at the head of the laity of that religion, was extremely active in fuppreffing them, and received the thanks of the clergy of the eftablished church, for his exertions. The catholic clergy, and particulariy lord Dunboyne, the titular bishop of Cork, entered into affociations for the reftoration of order and tranquility. The infurgents, irritated at this fpecies of discountenance, and finarting, as we have already faid, under the exactions of their own as well as the proteftant clergy, comprehended both in one general profcription. They deferted in crowds from the chapels of their pastors, and repaired tumultuoufly to the proteftant churches, under the idea, as it should feem, of this extenuating their legl delinquency. To fet this matter in its true light we will add to the inftances felected by the bifhop of Cloyne, a few of the violences committed upon the catholic clergy, which are related by the titular archbishop of Cahel. This prelate is of the family of lord Dunboyne, and is regarded upon account of his ftation, as primate of the Roman catholics of Munter, and in fome meature of the whole kingdom of Ireland. "Doctor Gleefon," fays the archbishop, "a man whofe years alone would make him venerable, for he was above feventy, was forcibly dragged from his reft at dead of night, his houfe ranfacked and plundered of every thing worth taking away, and all the wantonnefs of infult practifed upon his perfon. Mr. Murphy, parifli priest of Glanmire, was dragged from his bed at midnight, and obliged to fwear to abide by captain Right's rules, and not to fay any thing against them. Two parih prieits in the diocese of Cork, were forced from the unparalleled feverities they fuffered, to relign their parishes into the hands of lord Dunboyne their diocefan. Doctor Nugent, parish priest of Leamlara, was attacked at night by an armed mob, who fired upon him in his houfe, and he efcaped from their fury only by the fpirited refiftance of himself, his father and his fervant. Doctor Macmahon, Macmahon, titular bishop of Killaloe, was violently interrupted, when preaching in the chapel of Caftleconnel, because he condemned the irregularities of thefe infatuated disturbers. A proteftant church has, indeed, been nailed up; and fifty chapels have been nailed up and blockaded. The chapel of Cloghroe, in the diocefe of Cloyne, the chapel of Boerlane in the diocefe of Cafhel, the chapel of Donohil in the fame district, the chapels of Carrickeene and Monochone in the diocefe of Offory, have been nailed up, and their priests treated with the utmost indignity. And if this work were intended to excite pity, it could be fpun to a folio by the mere recital of thofe outrages, which have been fo anxiously defcribed, as confined to the perfons of proteftant clergy and to the proteitant churches." CHAPTER III. Diffentions of the United Provinces. Inftitution of the Volunteers, Rife of a Democratical Party. Conduct of the Citizens of Utrecht. Stadtholder retires from the Hague. Treaties with the Emperor and France. ONTEMPORARY with the ed through the United Provinces, difpute of the Schelde, which and who have always been found fo greatly engroffed the attention of more willing to depend upon the Europe, were the internal mifun- kindness of one man, than to court derstandings and diffenfions of the the frugal honours of an oligar Dutch republic. Thefe had first chy, or the uncertain favours of a difplayed themselves in their ex- democracy. The fecond party has ternal fymptoms in the year 1780. been that of the states, and of the The ground-work had probably fenates or town councils, who, in been laid much earlier than this. If oppofition to the nobles, might perwe examine the hiftory of the haps be more properly denominatUnited Provinces for the two laft ed an oligarchy, than, as they centuries, we fhall find two parties have been usually styled, an aristocontinually ftruggling for the fope- cracy. Thefe affemblies, if taken riority with a degree of eagernefs in a comprehenfive view, appear to and perfeverance that has fldom be in their own nature a felf elecbeen exceeded. The first of thefe tive body, or a body exercifing the has been the party of the hou e of privilege of filling up their own Orange. The fituation of the itate, vacancies. This privilege has inwhich demanded an able comman- deed been encroached upon by the der to lead them to arms against party of the fladtholder, in their the Spanish fovereign, had first hour of fuccefs; but the encroachraifed this houfe to dillinction; the ment has always been regarded by gratitude and affection of the com- their opponents as unconstitutional. mon people had long been one of its moit confiderable fupports; and laftly, it had for a bulwark of its authority the favour and attach ment of the order of nobles, fcatter During the greater part of their history the office of a ftadtholder, has formed a branch of their government. In that period however. when they were as a nation moft profperous profperous and refpectable, they governed themfelves as a pure republic, without the interference of fo powerful a magiftrate. Their inteftine divifions have been the means, as it frequently happens, of bringing forth, or of difplaying feveral illuftrious characters. Such they appeared in the conteft between prince Maurice and the venerable Barnevelt; fuch was the truggle between William II. and the Louvette in faction, in which that prince was taken off by death in the midst of his victory; and fuch, ftill more confpicuoufly, was the period of the adminiftration of the de Wittes, which was alfo the period of their naval triumphs. From the death of thefe great men the repubic has declined; and, instead of venerable patriots and diftinguifhed conquerors, Europe for the laft century has been accustomed to regard them, as a nation of mer chants, purfuing the acquifition of wealth in contempt of every other quality or accomplishment. There is perhaps a crifis in the difeafes of nations as of individuals, when it is neceffary either that the patient fhould yield to the difeafe, or, furmounting it, fhould faft converge to a state of health, fpirits and energy. Accordingly it is not to be doubted, that, after having quietly fubmitted to the authority of the ftadtholder for many years, the oligarchy had, previously to the year 1780, entertained the design of abridging his prerogatives, and tripping him of his dilproportionate authority. We have feen in our preceding volumes the meafures which were pu fued by this party, both in their fuccefstul profecution of the field marthal prince of Brunswic, and in teir ill more important attacks upon the adminilration of the stadtaclder refpect ing the conduct of the war with Great Britain, and the ignominious failure of the expedition to Brest. It was the misfortune of the oligarchical party, to have no particular object in view, towards which they were to direct their efforts, and the recollection of which might animate them in their exertions. Their plan was on the contrary, to watch with affiduity the occafions that might arife, and, instead of boldly directing the progrefs of events, merely to feize and improve fuch, as might arife without their particular concurrence. To prepare the fituation of the republic for the execution of this scheme, they fucceeded in exciting a diflike, and fixing a contempt upon the minifters, and even in fome measure upon the person of the fladtholder. Their next measure was more confiderable than this. They were apprehenfive, in cafe matters were pushed to extremities with the prince of Orange, whether the greater part of the army would finally adhere to the prince who commanded, or to the magistracy who paid them. They were delirous of creating to themfelves a party among their citizens; and this would not natu rally occur, fince the people in general were attached to the houfe of Orange, and fince no part of them had any real concern for the selfish and narrow fcheme of their oligarchical government. Accordingly in the year 1783, they countenanced the burghers of the different provinces in taking on them the character of volunteers, and forming themfelves into free corps; and they doubtlefs took care in the beginning, that the perfons, of whom thefe corps were conftituted, were fuch, as had confiderable connection with, and dependence upon themfelves. At the fame time they talked talked loudly of the importance of the people and the rights of mankind, and inveighed with bitterness against the infignificance and oppreffion, into which they were funk, under a government of domination and influence, like that of the stadtholder. It happens more frequently in politics, than in almost any other affair with which we are concerned, that the inftrument we construct anfwers more purposes than we at first imagined, and that the fentiment we excite goes greater lengths than we intended, or even produces material injury to its author. Of this we have an example in the prefent inftance. The people of Holland do not feem to have wanted much importunity to induce them to exert themfelves. It was not neceffary that the eloquence fhould be of the highest order, that fhould awaken them to a feeling of their rights. Accordingly the fpirit of volunteering once fet on foot made a rapid progrefs. It caught from man to man through the whole extent of the United Provinces, and in fome towns the body of the armed burghers embraced almost every thing that was rich, confiderable and refponfible among the citizens. The age in which they lived was the period of improvement. The fpirit of liberty, which had appeared languid and expiring, was once more blown up in the world. It had first fhown itfelf upon the fhores of the Atlantic, and its exertions in the place of its birth were important and admirable. From America the flame caught to various parts of the world. Even in Great Britain the cause of freedom had a momentary reign, though it did not produce any permanent confequences. In Ireland it was more fortunate They had fet out like Holland, upon the plan of volunteering. This plan made them irrefiftible; and, if the circumftances of the country had not been particularly unfavourable, and if the people had been refolute and determined, they might have fecured to themselves every advantage, that nature or truth had put within the reach of their exertions. The creed of America, and the example of Ireland gave birth to the democracy of Holland. The armed burghers had fcarcely formed their affociations, before they became confcious of the power that was thus put into their hands. The first efforts of real liberty were exhibited in the city of Utrecht. In order to understand these efforts it is neceffary, that we fhould recollect fomething of the conftitution of the government of the United Provinces. This country is not to be regarded, as we are too apt to con fider it upon a fuperficial view, as one great republic, fo properly as a collection of many leffer repub lics. Every confiderable town among them has all the features of a complete political fyftem within itself. It has its fenate or legiflature, its judges, its attorney-ge neral, its penfionary or prime mi nifter, its fecretary and its treasurer. Thefe towns indeed have a com mon reprefentation in the states of the province. Still however they act as allies and confederates, rather than as members of one fyftem. The deputies that reprefent each of the towns, are obliged in all important concerns to enquire the fentiments of the town fenates, and implicitly to obey their intruc tions. It is the fame in the higher fcene of reprefentation in the affembly of the ftates-general, with this additional provifo, that each of the |